Electrical registering and position indicator



June 18, 1946. F. H. HAGNER ELECTRICAL REGISTERING AND POSITION INDICATOR Filed April 21, 1945 2 sheets-smet '1' June 18, 1946;y F. H. HAGNER ELECTRICAL REGISTERING AND POSITION INDICATOR 'Filed April 21. 1943 J 2 shets`sheet 2 -FEE/P/c/rf HAGAfE/v Patented June 18, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL REGISTERING AND POSITION INDICATOR 2 Claims. l

This invention relates to an electrical registering and position indicator, and has for one of its objects the production of a simple and eflicient means for electrically registering the angle, as well as the degree of tilt of an instrument, through the medium of a freealling missile.

A further object of this invention is the production of a simple and efficient electrical indicating means which is actuated through the medium of a free-falling missile through force of gravity and is provided with electrical indicating means located upon the instrument panel of a vehicle such as an airplane and the like, which indicating means is actuated by the free-falling missile to indicate the angular position of the instrument and supporting means therefor, so that a pilot may be able to instantaneously determine the angle at which his airplane is iiying and its degree of tilt, if any.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following speciiication and claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a vertical sectional View through the hall-dropping mechanism and electrical indicatn ing means;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the electrical con tacts upon which the missile is adapted to drop;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the indicating chart lwhich is adapted to be carried by the instrument panel located at a distance from the ball-dropping mechanism;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on line 4i of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the ball-gripping tongs used in connection with the present invention;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional View taken on line @-i of Figure l, and also illustrating a typical electrical circuit for actuating the indicating lamps which are adapted to be carried by the instrument panel of an airplane;

Figure 'l is a side elevational view of the cani wheel which actuates the ball-releasing mechanism;

Figure 8 is an enlarged transverse sectional View taken on line 8"-8 of Figure 7 Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating several positions of an airplane carrying the registering and position indicator which may be indicated upon the indicating chart;

Figure l0 is a diagrammatic vieu/ illustrating the manner in which the missile is supported upon bearings located below the equator of the missile.

By referring to the drawings it will be seen that lll designates the casing of the ball-dropping mechanism which preferably comprises an elongated tubular housing which is preferably hung in balanced relation from a point such as is indicated at A. The casing I0 carries a mechanism supporting housing II near the top thereof for dividing the casing I0 into an upper compartment l2 and a lower compartment I3. The upper compartment l2 constitutes a reservoir for receiving missiles in the nature of balls and the upper end of the housing I I is provided with a central opening I4 for receiving the balls I5 from the upper compartment l2. A missile-dispensing wheel I6 is rotatably mounted below the socket I4 upon a supporting shaft I? and this missile-dispensing wheel I5 is provided with a plurality of missilereceiving pockets I8 formed in the periphery thereof. The housing II is provided with a ball discharge opening I9 at its lower end as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The pockets I8 are adapted to receive the balls I5 from the compartment I2 when in an upper position, and these pockets are adapted to discharge the balls into the opening I when in a lower position.

Ball-supporting tongs 20 are supported in a horizontal position in the socket 2l formed in the lower end of the housing II- These tongs 20 are provided with missile-supporting jaws 22 at their ends, which missilesupporting jaws 22 carry bearings 23 upon which the missiles l5 rest for suspending the missiles one at a time within the opening I 9. The jaws of the tongs 20 are adapted to be normally urged apart by means of a spreading spring 2d. The tongs 20 are provided with rearwardly extending wedge-engaging ends 25 between which ends 25 is adapted to iit a wedge portion 2s of a pivoted wedge latch Zl which Wedge latch 2l extends at right angles to the 1ongitudinal plane of the tongs E0. This pivoted latch 2 is spring-pressed and is provided at one end with a shoe 28 for dropping into the notches 29 formed in one face of the trigger-actuating wheel 30. Each notch 29 is provided with one inclined face 3! and one abrupt face 32 so that the latch 2l may suddenly drop into the notch 2% by force of the spring 33 and instantaneously pull the wedge `portion 2S out of engagement with the ends 25, thereby permitting the spring 2t to immediately force the jaws apart and release the missile I5 held therebetween. Since the wheel 39 is carried by the shaft il and is keyed thereto with the wheel I3, the notches 29 are arranged in transverse alignment reiative to the pockets It'- and when one pocket it is being emptied of the ball, the opposite pocket IS receives another ball 3 from the reservoir I2. A suitable hand or finger wheel 34 is carried by the outer end of the shaft l1 to facilitate the rotation of the shaft l1.

It should be understood that the jaws 23 of the tongs 20 are adapted to be instantaneously released by means of the spring 24 to instantaneously drop the ball I5 and that the trigger latch 21 also instantaneously operates by dropping into the notches 29 of the wheel 30 thereby withdrawing the wedge portion 26 instantaneously from between the ends 25.

It should be understood that any suitable mechanism may be provided for actuating the tongs 20 to provide immediate movement to spread and contract the jaws of the tongs to rst receive and support a ball or missile, and then to release the ball or missile under the control of an operator who actuates the wheel 34. Furthermore, any suitable or desired means may be employed rotating the shaft I1 without departing from the spirit of the invention.

An electrical contact or registering means is carried by the lower end of the casing I and this electrical contact or registering means preferablyprovides a plurality of contact segmental plates 35 which surrounds a central contact plate 35. 'I'his contact plate 36 may be preferably supported by suitable springs 36 of a sensitive nature sulcient to cause a missile I dropped thereon to compress the plate and close the contact with the contacts 31 carried below the segments 35 and the central plate 36.

These contact segments 35 and the central plate 36 are electrically connected as described in the following, through a suitable electrical circuit to an indicating means 40 which is adapted to be carried on the instrument panel of an airplane. This indicating means 40 preferably comprises a plate having transparent segments 4I and an electrical bulb 42 is located behind each of the segments 4I, the segments `III being arranged in similar relation with respect to the segments 35, and the central plate 36 of the contact means previously described, so that when a ball drops upon one segment the corresponding segment in the indicating means will be illuminated, in this way permitting an aviator to determine his angular position, as well as his angle of pitch, if any, merely by rioting the illumination of the segment upon the indicating means 40 as it is illuminated by a ball dropping through force of gravity from the ball-dropping means in the casing Il) upon the contact means at the bottom of the casing. It is not desired to limit myself to any particular type of electrical mechanism for providing a contact between the contact plates as shown in Figure 2, and the indicating means as shown in Figure 3, since this electrical mechanism may be variedy and may be of any typical or conventional type depending largely upon the character of current which may be available to accomplish the desired results.

As shown in Figure 1, the casing II) carries a trough 45 at its lower end around the edge of the contact means, or the edges of the outer contact elements 35. These Contact elements are preferably arched so as to cause the ball or balls I5 to roll toward the channel 45 which extends around the entire edge of the contact means. .A receptacle 46 is located near one side of the trough 45 and an upwardly extending conveyor belt 41 of a suitable type is mounted to one side of the casing Il), this belt extending vertically of the casing I0 and carrying a plurality of ballreceiving cups 48. These ball-receiving cups 48 are adapted to pick up the balls from the receptacle 46 and elevate the same to the upper chamber I2 in the manner as will be obvious by considering Figure 1 and dumping the balls into this receptacle upon the upper end of the housing I I. A spring-pressed gate 43 which will allow the cups 48 to pass in a downward direction through the channel 50 normally closes the upper end of the channel and prevents the balls from rolling back through the channel 5D.

Any suitable means may be provided for actuating the belt 41 such as an electrical motor, a clock mechanism, or any other suitable mechanism .indicated by the numeral 5I.

The electrical mechanism for illuminating the indicating means upon the panel of an airplane as contact is provided through a circuit closing or contact elements shown in Figure 2, is described in the following:

Each contact element 35 is electrically connected to a relay 52 by means of a wire 53 and the central contact plate 36 is similarly connected to an individual relay similar to the relay 52 by means of a wire 54. Each of the contact elements is connected to a separate relay through a conventional mechanism, which relay is adapted to actuate a lamp 42, a separate lamp being connected to each contact element and these lamps being carried under the transparent segments 4I of the indicating means 40. I'hese lamps 42 are connected by means of a wire 55 to a battery or other source of supply 56, and a switch 51, the opposite side of the battery being connected to a common ground in the conventional manner.

.. It should be understood that I do not desire to limit the present application to any particular type ci electrical means in view of the fact that any suitable mechanism may be employed for illuminating the lamps on the instrument panel in the rear of the indicating means 40 as soon as the circuit is closed by means of the ball I5 dropping upon one of the segments 35 or 36. The particular type of electrical mechanism is immaterial so far as the actual invention is concerned.

By referring to Figure 9 it will be noted that through the medium of the indicating means a pilot, by observing the indicating means 4D may be able to determine the pitch or angle of his plane, and the lighting up of one of the segments 4I will indicate to the pilot whether or not his plane is in one of the positions such as is indicated in the diagram in Figure 9, that is to say, whether the plane is tipped to the right or to the left, or has its nose extending downwardly or upwardly.

It should be understood that the operator will release only one missile at a time by operating the ringer wheel 34 while viewing the indicating `chart or means 40, and he will then observe the number of the segment which is lighted by the first impact of the missile. The second missile is not released by the operator until the first missile comes to rest. This will avoid confusion and the lighting of other segments may be disregarded if they should become lighted by the bouncing of the missile over the remaining spring-supported segments of the electrical contact means. The supporting springs 36EL may be of suiiicient strength to permit electrical contact with the contacts 31 only when the missile falls from the opening I9, and to resist compression of the segments 35 and closing the contacts when the missile bounces.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A device of the class described comprising a pair of missile-supporting tongs pivotally mounted and arranged in a horizontal plane, said tongs having missile-supporting outer ends, bearings carried by the outer ends of the tongs for suspending a spherical missile and contact the missile in a supported position below its equator at all times, means for spreading the outer ends of the tongs apart for releasing the missile and for dropping the missile when released therefrom with no degree of deflection interference, a pivoted latch for engaging the tongs and moving the tongs to a missile-engaging position, a cam wheel engaging the latch for periodically moving the latch to and from an operative position, and

FREDERICK H. HAGNER. 

